Bumper



March 30, 1948. RUNYAN 2,438,578

BUMPER Filed May 16, 1947 BYMWW Patented Mar. 30, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BUMPER J efierson '1. Bunyan, Downey, Calif. Application May 16, 1947, Serial No. 748,554 2 Claims. (01. 29s-s5 My invention relates to bumpers for automotive vehicles and has particular reference to a bumper construction for commercial vehicles.

Bumpers for commercial vehicles have heretofore generally been of the type used on passenger vehicles but of heavy duty construction. Some commercial vehicle bumpers have been locally made, however, from different structural stock materials and in this respect have not resembled passenger car bumpers. These commercial vehicle bumpers have been designed primarily for protecting the truck or other vehicle from damage either by Strikin stationary objects or from being struck by moving vehicles.

I have discovered, however, that a very effective bump r may b bui t. th t s adapt d r other uses also, specifically. bumpers made in accordance with my invention may be used as a step for access to a vehicle, may serve as a mount for a trailer hitch and. may serve as. a securing bar for tie-down purposes for loose loads. In addition to serving effectively for these multiple purposes, my bumpers are adapted to be conveniently located so as to permit free operation of the vehicle, including. the. accommodation of the tail gate functions. of dump trucks and other open body trucks.

It is, therefore, a general object of; my invention to provide a multiple purpose; bumper for commercial vehicles.

Another object of invention istoprovide a rugged andv inexpensive: bumper adapted to. be used also as. astep, tie-down. or trailer hitch.

Still another object of invention is to provide a multiple purpose vehiclebumper that may be so constructed. asto. be: located on the vehicle without interference. with the operation of the vehicle.

A further objectv of; my invention is to provide a multiple purpose bumper that may be simply constructed from, commonastock materials merely by burning out shapes and lengths and welding them together.

Other. objects and advantages of. my invention will be apparent from the follpyving description and claims considered together with the accompanyin draw ne iin which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a presently preferred bumper construction as. applied to.an open body truck having a tailgate;

Fig. 2 is, a, sectional'view along the line. IIII of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view.. through a modified form of my invention illustrating a difierent angular disposition of the supporting bars; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view through a second modified form of my invention illustrating another type of support.

Referring to the drawings, a truck It may have two lengthwise frame members II which for purposes of illustration are indicated as channel members. A truck body I2 may be secured to these frame members II and the body may include a tail gate I3 hinged to the body I2 in any suitable manner, as at 20.

The bumper of Figs. 1 and 2 may include a horizontal angle iron member I4 disposed generally transverse to the truck I0 and may be secured to the truck Ill by means; of two support plates I6 welded or otherwise secured to the top portion of the angle member I4. As clearly illustrated the support plates I6 may have the outline of a downwardly curved horn and may have apertures I! in the small end. thereof through which bolts may be passed to secure this small end to the lengthwise channels I I of the truck Ill.

The angle I4 may be secured against rotation with respect to the support plates. I6" by means of a Weld I'Ia, securing these two members together. Accordingly, the weld I'Ia may be, for the entire width of one surface of the angle I I so as toobtain maximum structural support. The angle member I I' may be prevented from movement due to lengthwise blows by means of inclined braces l8 which may be welded at. one endto the outer ends of the angle member I4 and at'the other end to support plates I6. A tubular brace I9 may extend between the two support plates I6 and may also be Welded.

Although the ends of theangle member I4 may be cut ofi. squarely, I have found: that a safer bumper structure results when. a generally V- shaped portion is; cutout of the horizontal plate of the angle member I4 and the vertical plate bent therearound to define a generally curved end 2|. A weld 22. may securethis joint together.

As illustrated in. Figures 1, and 2; the angle member I4 is. positioned so as-tohavea vertical web and to have a. horizontal, plate attached at the upper surface of; the verticalliweb. Accordingly, the upper surface I 4a of: therangle member may serve as a. step; surface facilitating, entry into the truck body I2 or facilitatingremoval'of packages or other freightv therefrom. The vertical web of the angle. memberserv'esto support thehorizontal portion I la. from sagging; under heavy loads.

I provide for the convenient: attachment of trailer hitches to. the-bumper constructionsof: my invention by aperturingatherhorizontal weir Ma;

for example as at it, so that bolts may be passed through to secure the trailer hitch. This is in contrast to the usual trailer hitch connection to bumpers wherein an auxiliary angle member must be secured to a generally vertical bumper member so as to provide th necessary horizontal surface. Additionally, the bumper construction is well adapted to receive the loads imposed by carrying a. trailer and in this connection the wide effect of the web Ida will resist deformation particularly if supported vertically by the other plate 14b ofthe angle member l4.

Not only does the tubular brace l9 assist in strengthening the entire structure but also serves as a convenient tie-down bar for loose loads. Accordingly, ropes or other fasteners may be passed around the load and over the tail gate 13 so as to be tied to the tube I9, the rounded surface of which prevents cutting or chafing of the ropes. Additionally, tie-down ropes may be passed under the braces IS. The use of the tube l9 as'a tie-down device does not interfere with the effectiveness of the plate Ma asa step inasmuch as the tube is disposed above and inwardly. from the step. 7

It will be noted that they particular type of support plate l6 illustrated in Figs. land 2 disposes the bumper structure as a whole out of the path of the swinging tail gate [3, thus permitting the truck body to be used effectively inits intended manner while at the same time adequately protecting the truck from endwiseencounters. Accordingly, the angle member, It may extend slightly outwardly from the tail gate 13 but sufliciently below it to permit the tail gate to be swung past the horizontal position. j

The advantage of using an angle member disposed Wlth one web horizontal and the other vertical is obvious, the wide web l4a resisting the blows that are generally delivered along a horizontal direction against thevertical web while the vertical web I 4B prevents the horizontal plate from being deformed under the impact of the blows g Illustrated in Fig. 3 is a modified form of support plate lBa having an offset'shape which is adapted for use on vehicles that do nothave tail gates. Accordingly, the bumper structure may be positioned closer in linewith the longitudinal frame members of the truck and, if desired, tubu-lar support members Mia and inclined braces I811 may be utilized.

Another form of bumper constructionis illustrated in Fig. 4 whereinthe body portions of. the truck adjacent the end thereof project downwardly so that the bumper structure must be offset. Accordingly, a brace member 16b may have the end attached to the trucks greatly widened, as at 23, so as to provide the maximumresistance to the horizontal impacts receivedby channel 24, which impacts would have considerable leverage due to the distance of the channel below the point of attachment of the-support plate 16?).

Use of the channel 24 gives greater resistance to horizontal blows received by the bumper and is also illustrative of the versatility of my invention, permitting the use of various commercially available steel shapes.

It will be obvious from an inspection of the drawings that bumpers made in accordance with my invention niay be readily constructed of coinmercially available materials. Accordingly, stock angle bars of steel may be employed for the member M and may be cut to length by the usual weld-- ing torch and may be properly slit so as to provide for the rounded or tapered end 23.

Likewise the braces is may be cut by a welding torch from ordinary bar stock and the tubu-' lar brace I 9 may be cut from ordinary steel tubing. Support plates It may be cut with a torch or by a heavy duty punch press from plate material, such as /1" steel plate. The strongest fabrication is assured by making all connecting joints welded, as illustrated in the drawings, thereby making each connection as strong as the material itself when good quality Welding is utilized. While I prefer to utilize Welding, it is obvious that other types of fasteners could be employed such as bolts and nuts, screws, etc.

Although I have illustrated my invention with respect'to specific embodiments thereof, it isiobvious that various, modifications could be made therein without departing from the true spirit and scope of my invention. Accordingly, the disclosure is merely illustrative and not limiting.

Iclaim:

1; A rear bum-per construction for use onautomotive trucks of the'type having a pair of rearwardly extending laterally spaced frame members comprising? a bumperbar formed with a vertical weband a horizontal web; and means for securing said bumper bar tothe frame members comprising a pair of spaced supportplates extending in vertical planes transverse to the length of said bumper bar, each of said plates having a horizontally extending portion for attachrnent to a frame member and a downwardly extending portion terminating at said bumper bar and rigidly'secured to 'the' upper 'surface fof the horizontal web thereof to dispose thebar tachment to a 1 frame member. and a'downwardn extending. portion terminating at said bumper bar and rigidly secured to the-upper surface of thehorizontal web thereof to dispose th'e'bar rearwardly of the frame members and below the level of the frame member'sya horizontal-brace extending between and 'sec ured t'o said' support plates at. oints'above. the level of said horizon tal .web; and diagonal braces secured to said bumper bar and said plates and extending inwardly and upwardly from points near theends of said bumper. topoints on said platesabove the level of said horizontal web. "j iii 7 a I 1.; :JEFFERSON'T. 'RUNYA streame s orrani 'i 7 The following references. 7 are of record thefile of this patent'zf V g a D, was rea s"- Number .Nain 1,530,484 Duns t o n Ma 24; 1925 1,544,163. Lier],l '1; June 2,0119% 1,546,947 Soh1' Ju1 '.2 1,1.19'25 1,554,954 Coote Sept. 22', .1925 6, 6 gBr p sm h "..---'.QQ --6,' 1925 15 K e ,4 rr..l1;92 1,654,687 Jonsilj Jan. 3.1928 1,905,590 Isrig Apr. 25, 1933 

